‘WHY PERSECUTE ME?’

A group of Arab Muslimswho were chasing after Christians said a dust storm suddenly formed on the road, forcing them to stop the chase, when Jesus appeared to them and spoke with a “mighty voice.”

The man said he and 19 other Islamist militants were informed that a group of Christians would be holding a baptism service. They boarded their vehicles and rushed to the site with the intention of killing everyone there.

Their purpose, said he, was to instill fear among Christians around the world and to make them stop sharing the good news to the Muslims in their country, according to Bibles for Middle East.

However, when they arrived, they saw that the Christians were leaving. They were already on the bus and on their way back to the church.

Instead of giving up the pursuit, the militants chased after the bus and began shootingat it.

Rizwan, who was among those baptized that day at the Arabian Sea, recounted how everyone on the bus thought they would die that day.

“Maybe it was the militants plan to kill us in the sea during the baptism service. But somehow we finished our service earlier and tried to return back,” he said.

When their bus driver increased speed, the militants also drove faster and continued to shoot at them, Rizwan said.

Then, without warning, a dust storm formed “within seconds” and concealed the bus from the militants’ view.

Rizwan said they felt as if Jesus himself appeared in the dust storm to block the road and protect them from the militants, who eventually stopped chasing and shooting at them. They all praised God and made it back to the church safely.

What they didn’t know was that Jesus appeared to the militants.

Haroon said as the dust storm raged on, the militants had to stop their vehicles because they couldn’t see a thing.

“We were unable to move forward,”he said. “We all got down from our cars and continue shooting through the dust storm.”

Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the dust storm. Haroon said he looked “angry” and his eyes “were like blazing fire.”

“Why are you persecuting me; it’s hard for you to kick against the pricks,” Jesus said to them in a mighty voice.

His voice was so powerful that when he spoke, a strong wind literally swept the militants off their feet and blew their guns away. Haroon said the whole thing was a “terrible experience.”

As they struggled to get up, they realized they couldn’t talk. They felt afraid, yet they felt peace at the same time, an experience that was totally new to all of them.

Haroon said Jesus told them that he “came to the world not to destroy anyone; but to save,” and he told them to “Go in peace.”Then he disappeared, and the dust storm also disappeared.

All of them, save for two, praised God, but they argued among themselves about whether what they saw was from God or not.

After the incident, Haroon’s group was no longer assigned to “militant activities.”

Although the experience made him curious about Jesus, Haroon did not put his faith in Christ until a few days later when their family was around a bonfire in the desert. A deadly snake bit his sister Hajira. When she was rushed to the hospital, doctors said she would die.

While Hajira was asleep, an angel appeared to her and told her about Jesus, “the Savior and the Healer.” She shared the story to Haroon when she woke up, and they prayed and asked Jesus to save them.

They were both surprised when Pastor Paul of Bibles for Mideast, who was among the group of Christians Haroon and the other militants wanted to kill, walked into the room. He said an angel told him to visit them and even gave him their names.

Pastor Paul shared the gospelto them, and Haroon and his sister confessed their sins and gave their lives to Christ. Pastor Paul also prayed for Hajira, who was completely healed from the snake bite.

When their father learned about what happened to Hajira, he also surrendered his life to Jesus. Not only did Haroon’s entire family get saved; 17 of the militants in their group also “got saved”.